Many objects have intrinsic value or have value because they provide access to other valuable objects. For instance, jewelry and coins have inherent and intrinsic value, while keys, such as keys to vehicles, have value because they provide access to other valuable objects, namely automobiles and trucks. Access and control of either of these, that is intrinsically valuable objects or objects that provide access to intrinsically valuable objects, is an important need. Access to other types of items, such as narcotics and pharmaceuticals for example, needs to be monitored, tracked, and controlled to assure against unauthorized access and to assure that proper and appropriate access is catalogued and verified. There is a serious need to be able to track, catalogue access to, and control the dispensing of narcotics and similar items through methods and devices that are reliable, simple to operate, automated, and that guard against theft and mischief.
In the past, a variety of systems and methodologies have been developed and implemented to track and control various types of objects such as equipment, guns, vehicle keys, jail keys, etc. In the case of keys in an automobile dealership, for example, pegboards historically were used to keep track of keys as salespersons, maintenance personnel, and others removed keys for access to vehicles. Generally, sign-out sheets were used to log the check-in and check-out of the keys. Obviously, such a manual system of tracking has numerous shortcomings due in large part to the very real potential of human error and forgetfulness in carrying out the sign-in and sign-out procedures. More recently, automated computer controlled key tracking systems have been implemented for tracking, for example, vehicle keys at car lots and keys to the apartments of apartment complexes. Examples of such key tracking systems are disclosed in a variety of patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,801,628; 6,075,441; 6,195,005; and 6,317,044 of the present inventor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,985 of Hambrick et al. (“Hambrick”), U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,655 of Cobb (“Cobb”), and others. The disclosures of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
While object tracking systems and methodologies disclosed in these and other references have proven extremely valuable in the tracking and control of objects such as keys, they nevertheless exhibit significant limitations and weaknesses in some applications. One primary weakness common to prior object tracking systems is that they don't track the actual objects that are being controlled, e.g. keys themselves. Rather, they track a container or tag that is attached to or carries the object and that is provided with an electronic or optical identification code. This opens the possibility for the object that is actually being tracked to be removed from its tag or container or swapped with a worthless object without the system identifying the security breach. For example, a key to a vehicle can be cut off of its ID tag or stripped from its container and a traditional electronic key tracking system will not detect the theft of the key. Similarly, if narcotics within ID containers are being tracked, the pills themselves can be removed from their containers and confiscated and the tracking system is none the wiser.
This problem has been addressed somewhat in key tracking systems such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,664 of the present inventor. In this system, keys are attached to their key tags with serialized tethers which, if cut, inform the system electronically of the breach. While this is an improvement in the tracking system, there still remains the possibility of removal of the key by cutting the physical key off of its tether, because this action would not alter the serial tether. In such a case, the only method of recognizing the theft is a physical inventory of the keys by a person. Requiring a human inventory in order to confirm that the key or other object being tracked and controlled is present by definition negates the main purpose of automatic key tracking systems. Essentially, the tracking system is reduced to a manual control system. It thus will be seen that as long as an object tracking system actually tracks and controls an attached tag or container and not the tracked objects themselves, dispensing and controlling items such as keys, jewelry, or narcotics is potentially not much better than a controlled honor system.
In the system of “Cobb,” an attempt is made to address some of these shortcomings. In this system, an optional weighing scale is provided outside the system for the manual weighing of each object as it is checked in and checked out. The user is required to weigh an ID tag attached to tracked objects before it is inserted into the tracking system at check-in and just after it is received from the system at check-out to enter the weight manually into the control computer. The computer checks to make sure the weight is the same, theoretically confirming that the tracked item is intact and in place. In addition to reducing the Cobb tracking system to a manual honor system, there are other serious problems with this approach. For example, a key or other item being tracked can be removed during the period in-between removing its ID container from the system and weighing it on the scales. Returning the object can be even more prone to abuse. After the ID container and its contained object is weighed, the object, such as a key, can be removed before inserting the ID container into the tracking system. Such tempering can occur with an ID container or an ID tag. For example, a key can be precut to enable it to be removed easily after the tag is weighed. Cobb briefly and vaguely mentions a “weighing scale” but fails to teach any specifics regarding such scales or how they might be used to resolve the inherent problems discussed herein.
Thus, even though prior art key tracking and object tracking systems have proven very useful and have improved, there exists a continuing need for a system and methodology that addresses the above problems and shortcomings. In particular, there is a need for an object tracking system that automatically identifies and verifies the conditions of the tracked objects themselves as well as identifying the ID tags or containers to which they are attached or in which they are contained. A related need exists for a method of identifying and verifying that an item being tracked, such as a key, a piece of jewelry, or a unit of narcotics, is indeed present and genuine when being checked in and out of the tracking system. In the case of narcotics tracking, a need exists for an automatic tracking methodology that identifies narcotics and verifies upon check-in that only the proper number of pills or other units of the narcotic have been removed from their security containers while the narcotics were checked out of the tracking system. It is to the provision of an object tracking methodology and system that successfully addresses these and other important needs that the present invention is primarily directed.